The Sword of Sir Galahad
by Lady Lestat
Summary: It's up to Sidney, Nigel and his friends back in Blighty to uncover an age old relic from the times of King Arthur. REVIEW! Chapter 10 uploaded!
1. Trinity College

Disclaimer - I don't own Relic Hunter or any of the characters except the ones I have invented myself. This fic is a plea to all Relic Hunter fans to write more stories! There just isn't enough so please, please, please, even if it's just a one-shot, post it! Oh, and review my story, pleeeease!  
  
Chapter one  
  
The usual rapid chatter and bright laughter of the students at Trinity College surrounded Professor Sydney Fox as she strode elegantly towards the old wooden door of the ancient studies department. Hoisting her heaving bag further onto her shoulder she heard two familiar voices gradually rising within the room. Sighing and amusedly rolling her eyes she twisted the knob and pushed open the door onto the regular battleground of Nigel and Claudia's office space. Seated on opposite sides of the room Sydney watched as her teaching assistant and secretary did battle among chaotic bombsite of office equipment and dusty, historical books and parchments.  
  
"- all I did was open a crossword book and you leap down my throat, honestly! Not all of us have to go to a club and get smashed to have a good time!"  
  
"Your idea of a good time is a crossword puzzle? Like, my God, Nigel, your problem is obviously worse than I thought!"  
  
"Problem? Problem? I don't have a problem, just because I don't want to go 'paint the town red' looking like Cindy goes to Hollywood!"  
  
"How dare you, I do not look like a child's play doll! I'll have you know that is an insult to women. Now you take that back, Bailey, or."  
  
"Okaaay, I think I'll put a stop to this now, before it turns ugly!"  
  
"Syd!" the bickering stopped instantly as the two jumped and simultaneously whipped around to see their boss looking at them with a teasing expression on her pretty, sun-tanned face.  
  
"Any messages, Claudia?"  
  
"Messages?.Oh, right, um, some guy called from England saying he wanted to talk to Nigel about some sword or other and if you would contribute to the search.quest.thing." Sydney turned around to glance curiously at Nigel.  
  
"Nigel, lets go to my office and you can tell me exactly who this 'guy' is and what he wants with us," saying that she turned and stepped into the adjoining room with Nigel behind her. Almost catching a glimpse of Claudia's underwear as she bent over in a shocking pink micro-mini skirt to pick up a fallen nail file. "OK Nige', spill the secret, what's this sword all about?"  
  
"Well, I know this probably seems a bit farfetched, but we think we may have found the means to discover the sword of Sir Galahad!" 


	2. Trinity College 2

Disclaimer - I don't own Relic Hunter or any of the characters apart from the ones that I create myself. AN- Don't forget to review, the more reviews I get, the more I'll write.  
  
Chapter two  
  
Sydney leaned forward in her office chair in surprise, "The sword of Sir Galahad, are you sure? That would be a major find if it's possible Nigel."  
  
"I know," the handsome young teaching assistant replied, his features lighting up in a cute but slightly goofy smile, "but I really think they're on to something, that is 'they' being a group of my old Oxfords pals. Alex called me a couple of days ago about the parchments they found whilst on an archaeological dig in Cornwall."  
  
"I see," she absently brushed her long dark hair out of her eyes, now giving Nigel her absolute attention, "go on. Do they know what the parchments mean?"  
  
"Unfortunately, no. They did recognize the coat of arms on the heads of the papers to be that of Sir Galahad's and depictions of the sword on the same leaves but they haven't been able to decipher the Latin writings. They were hoping I would be able to visit them in the UK and work it out for them and they said you would be more than welcome to join me. That is if you want to, not that I wouldn't want you to, I do, in fact I'd love you to come, but you don't have to."  
  
"I'd love to come," Sydney interrupted, before he could babble on any further, "it sounds like an interesting and worthwhile project. Plus I can't wait to meet all your friends, maybe see an old humiliating photo or too while we're at it."  
  
"Oh, er, um, Syd!" Nigel panicked as he rushed out of her office to where she was speaking to Claudia about flights, "You wouldn't, would you? I mean, not that I have any embarrassing pictures, ahem, but you."  
  
"Don't worry, Nige'," laughed Sydney, "I would never do that to you, honest. Claudia, two plane tickets to England, please and cancel all my classes till further notice. Nigel, I hope you're packed and ready to go."  
  
"Of course I'm ready to go, I never had the chance to unpack from the last place you dragged me off to, never mind re-pack."  
  
"OK, Syd, I got you two early flights with British Airways tomorrow morning to Gatwick at five thirty. First class, last two seats."  
  
"Brilliant, Claudia, I'll see you in the morning then Nigel, bright and early, just the way you like it!"  
  
"Urgh, Claudia, why can't you ever get us flights for a normal hour?"  
  
"Oh, for goodness sake, Nigel, an hour is an hour, it can't be normal or not." Sydney grinned as the sounds of her friends faded away as the door clicked shut behind her. This relic hunt looked very promising, not to mention she would have the chance to tease Nigel to no end with all his old university mates around the place." 


	3. En route to Blighty

Disclaimer - I don't own Relic Hunter, the only things I own are the characters I have made up myself and the plot idea. Also, like I said before, will all you authors out there please either update their Relic Hunter fanfics or start writing new ones? Is it too much to ask? It is free after all, just like reviewing my fic is.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
They were nearly through the flight to England and Sydney gave a bored sigh as she relaxed in her seat with a small can of diet coke. The quiet throbbing hum of the planes engines had already lulled Nigel to sleep over his laptop, so she didn't have his usual enthusiastic chatter to keep her amused.  
  
The airline charged for the use of their entertainment facilities and as Nigel had his laptop out Sydney thought she would listen to a CD on that, or perhaps continue the research her assistant had been in the middle of before he had started quietly begun snoring, leaning against the window pane.  
  
Sydney retrieved a disc from her hand luggage and was about to lean over Nigel to pick up the laptop when he stirred slightly in his sleep. Glancing at him she could see his soft brown hair had fallen over his eyes, casting shadow over his features, his lightly muscled arms wrapped around himself in an obvious attempt to keep warm under the strong blow of the air conditioner as the cool breeze seemed to be going straight through the thin indigo t-shirt he had on. Not sure why she was doing it, Sydney gently brushed the dark hair from his face, reaching up to direct the flow of air away from Nigel she didn't look away from his face once.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now approaching the airport. If you would all please return to your seats you will notice the seatbelt sign is now lit-"  
  
Sydney jumped as the captain's voice suddenly blared from the speakers. Hearing a groan next to her she quickly turned to face the opposite side of the plane as she saw Nigel beginning to stir.  
  
"Ow," Nigel moaned as he sat up, rubbing his back, "are we here?"  
  
"Hmm? - oh, yes, we're approaching the airport, Nigel, so you might want to pack your laptop away."  
  
As he began to rummage around by his feet for the bag, Sydney watched him, her eyes slowly drifting downwards -  
  
'Oh my God!' She thought frantically, as she quickly averted he gaze, 'I was not looking at Nigel's arse, I wasn't! OK, Sydney, get a grip, this is Nigel your talking about, since when did you fancy him? Not that I do now!'  
  
She was extremely relieved when the plane finally landed and she exited as quickly as possible, almost sending the poor airhostess flying in her haste. Suddenly recalling the reason of her hurry, Sydney spun around to see Nigel attempting to hurry after her, struggling to keep a hold on his laptop as well as all her forgotten bags. Feeling slightly ashamed she excused her sudden flight as excitement for the hunt and strode off at a more sedate pace to try and find a baggage trolley.  
  
AN: I know there hasn't been much action in this chapter, but it introduces the new feelings that Sydney is starting to have for Nigel. I actually wasn't intending for there to be any kind of romance in this fic, it just kinda happened. Wonder what that means?! Anyway, whatever you think, let me know by reviewing. 


	4. Its a volkswagen thing

Disclaimer- I don't own Relic hunter, the only thing I do own is the plot. Plz review!  
  
Chapter 4  
  
"Are they meeting us here Nigel, or should we get a cab?" Sydney asked as she carefully wheeled the luggage trolley around a group of excited French exchange students in the arrivals lounge of Gatwick airport.  
  
"Well Alex said he was going to send Kitty and Dev to meet us with the jeep." Nigel replied as he cast his eyes over the seething mass of people to find his friends.  
  
Nige', hey Nigel! Over here!"  
  
The two relic hunters whirled round to see two people running their way before the female of the two flung herself onto Nigel and squeezed all the breath out of him in a crushing bear hug.  
  
The girl had long dark red hair that swung about her head in bouncy waves, deep blue eyes, a tight emerald green t-shirt and the tattiest pair of baggy jeans Sydney had ever seen.  
  
"Nigel! Good to see ya mate!" Sydney turned her stare onto the young man that had accompanied the girl in her mad quest to jump on her assistant. He had dark brown hair that was spiked up every which way, a bronze t-shirt with 'I know you're looking at me' written across the front and a pair of beige jeans. As he leaned across to slap Nigel on the back she saw 'Nice view isn't it' written across the back.  
  
Not picturing these to be the sort of people Nigel would voluntarily hang around with, Sydney was felling a bit dazed. Trying to picture these people spending time with each other on campus at Oxford wasn't very easy. As she was contemplating this she realized that Nigel was talking to her.  
  
"I think we should dump the trolley and take the bags out to the car park ourselves, don't you think?"  
  
"Oh, right, of course." Sydney grabbed two of the rucksacks, "Lead the way!" As they made their way through the terminal the woman came over to talk to her.  
  
"Hi, we didn't properly introduce ourselves, I'm Katrina, but you can call me Kitty if you want to. You must be Nigel's boss, Sydney Fox." 'Looks can be deceiving' Sydney thought before replying, the woman seemed to have the same polite British manners that Nigel did.  
  
"Hi Kitty. Please, call me Sydney, or Syd, whichever works for you."  
  
"Oh, right, thanks. The rude git over there is Devon by the way, hopefully you'll get a chance to talk to him when we get to the van if he gets his head out of the clouds by then."  
  
'OK' she thought, 'maybe not exactly like Nigel' "Um, I thought we were going by jeep?"  
  
"Well we would be, but the starter motor wouldn't turn over this morning and the mechanic said he wouldn't be over till Friday so we had to bring the van. I hope you don't mind, it's kind of unusual."  
  
As the two stepped outside after the other two Sydney caught a view of the van. It was an old Volkswagen minivan sprayed black with blue fire painted on the doors and on the back in big white letters was the phrase 'IT'S A VOLKSWAGEN THING, YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND'.  
  
Nigel seemed to be taking a trip down memory lane and at the same time gawping at the thing in shock. Sliding the door open and getting in while the others opened the front two doors to the drivers section, Sydney had to grab Nigel's arm and jerk him into the vehicle.  
  
Several hours of listening to Muse on the battered cassette player later Devon leaned over to the back seats to signal that they were coming up to the site.  
  
AN - considering that Nigel's friends are going to be a weird bunch I thought I should break you in slowly by only introducing 2 of them to start with. Please review and I'll be busy writing up the next chapter. 


	5. My spleen!

Disclaimer - Unfortunately I don't own Relic Hunter. By the way, is it just me or is it impossible to buy Relic Hunter from the shops? No one seems to stock it: (  
  
Chapter 5  
  
As the van roared to a halt outside a large tent Sydney could hear excited voices approaching from the distance. Sliding the door open and jumping down she could see two figures running towards them. Hearing Nigel dropping to the floor next to her she turned around to help him with the bags before being shoved to one side as a man and a woman threw themselves at her assistant.  
  
"Oh my god, I can't believe you're really here!"  
  
"Nigel, man, why didn't you call us? You got to see the parchments and check out this amazing tunnel we found!"  
  
"Owww-" Nigel groaned, "my spleen! Someone elbowed me!"  
  
"Oops, sorry Nige'!" a tall blonde woman wearing an oversized red hoodie, black combat shorts and battered trainers wiped a tear of amusement from her sparkling grey eyes.  
  
"Never mind that, what have you done with Sydney?"  
  
"Sydney?" replied the man, "you mean your boss?" as he looked round at her Sydney could see he had sleek black hair tied back loosely in a ponytail, deep blue eyes and was wearing an old white Glastonbury t-shirt, a pair of frayed black jeans and some mud encrusted doc martin's.  
  
Sydney was about to reply with a cutting remark when the man helped her up from her stunned position on the floor and took her bags for her with a sincere apology.  
  
"I guess we should introduce ourselves," began the blonde woman, who had finally let go of Nigel, "I'm Brionney and this is Alex. Faith would be here but she's trying to find out what's wrong with the jeep at the moment. I hope you didn't mind riding in the combi too much?"  
  
"No, it was fine," reassured Sydney, feeling slightly more at ease, "it was very, novel. Besides, me and Nige' have definitely travelled in worse."  
  
"You got that right," Nigel muttered, pushing back his hair and feeling a bit flustered.  
  
"Well, I for one want to find out more about that one," said Brionney, "but first I really want to start showing you some of what we've been working on and some of the minor things we've already uncovered."  
  
"Let's get started then!" said Sydney brightly. The six of them made their way across the slightly uneven terrain a few hundred metres from the cliffs, past the large tent to some awning that had been put up next to a turquoise land rover. Approaching the log trestle tables that had been set up with pieces of paper, books, laptops, and other equipment they could see the back of a woman bent over the engine of the vehicle with the bonnet up.  
  
Turning around and straightening up as she heard Kitty calling to her Sydney was taken aback by her appearance. The woman was undoubtedly pretty in an extraordinary way. She had incredibly pale skin, deep green eyes outlined smokily in black, she had deep blue hair pulled back from her face with silver grips and was dressed in a tight black t-shirt that showed off her pierced belly-button, leather trousers and doc martin's on her feet.  
  
As she walked over to them Sydney noticed she also had an elegant Celtic tattoo encircling her wrist. Feeling a bit apprehensive of the woman Sydney was relieved when she suddenly grinned widely at her and Nigel.  
  
"Hi, you must be Sydney Fox, I've read so much about your work, it really is fascinating. I'm Faith by the way. Hey, Dev! The carburettor's busted, we're gonna have to get a new one if you want her up and running any time soon."  
  
"Faith, what happened to the purple?" said Nigel, indicating her hair.  
  
"Got bored didn't I? It's great to see you, still play the piano at all?" Nigel shook his head.  
  
"Oh well. I'm sure you still know how so there's no reason why you can't play with me later. Anyhow, I guess you're wanting to see the parchments." Picking up a silver folder from the table she carefully removed two leaves of paper and handed them to Nigel.  
  
Leaning over his shoulder Sydney asked him if he could make sense of any of it.  
  
"Well, they were right, it is in Latin, but a very old form of it so it's no wonder they didn't understand any of it. The writing is difficult to make out as the paper seems to be centuries old, but here goes;  
  
'To thee who seeks the protection of Galahad, son and heir to the noble Sir Lancelot Du Lac and the fair Lady Elaine of Corbenic. To prove thy honour and thy mettle thee must first unravel the passage.  
  
My good blade carves the casques of men,  
  
My tough lance thrusteth sure,  
  
My strength is as the strength is as the strength of ten,  
  
Because my heart is pure.'"  
  
"Well, it must correspond with the other parchment somehow because it looks like some kind of map to some underground passage." Sydney suggested, trying hard to concentrate on the job at hand instead of breathing in the scent of Nigel's hair. She really should stop thinking about him in this way, she thought to herself as she took the parchment off him and scrutinized it.  
  
"They also bear the same coat of arms," interjected Brionney, pointing to the heads of both sheets, "the red cross on a white background was the emblem of Sir Galahad. The cross probably signifies his purity which is why he was the one chosen for the quest of the Holy Grail."  
  
"I wonder what it means by 'the protection of Galahad'?" said Alex, thoughtfully, "The man can't be still alive."  
  
"Maybe it's referring to the sword?" wondered Kitty.  
  
AN - right, that's it till the next chapter. I know it's an odd place to stop but I really couldn't think what to put next. I hope you enjoyed it anyway, no matter what you think please review. The poem was an extract of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem 'Sir Galahad'. 


	6. I never did like to absail

Disclaimer - I don't own Relic Hunter. Gad. I'm getting really sick of having to write that, it reminds me of how jealous I am. By the way, thank you to the readers who reviewed my story, I'm v. grateful and keep them coming. I know there hasn't been much action yet but now that I've introduced all the good guys I can start putting some bad guys in the mix too! Let me know what you think (  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"Are you sure you want to do this, Nigel?" asked Sydney, looking concerned as her TA peered nervously over the cliff, the strong ocean winds blowing his hair crazily about his face.  
  
Pulling the rope tighter through the harness around his waist Nigel glanced at her whilst visibly pulling himself together and nodded firmly.  
  
"Yes. I want to do this. It's the only way of getting down to the tunnels and besides; I have to conquer this stupid fear of abseiling. Or plunging over the side of a cliff with nothing but a piece of string around your waist, whatever floats your boat."  
  
Giving his shoulder a squeeze in support Sydney signalled to the others that they were ready to go. Faith, Brionney and Alex would be going with them while the other two would stay back at the tents and look over the research yet again.  
  
Clipping his harness to the rope secured to a rock on the slope Nigel carefully backed out over the edge. Landing with a small thump Sydney dropped to the slightly sandy stone floor of the tunnel, Alex, Brionney and Faith seconds behind her but with slightly less grace.  
  
Halfway down the sheer rock face Nigel shivered, something was wrong. He didn't know what it was. The winds were screaming in his ears and the waves were crashing against the cliff, yet it still seemed too quiet. He realised that he could no longer hear the voices of those that had remained above. Glancing upwards time seemed to freeze around him as he saw the support rope slowly loosen from its mooring.  
  
As if in slow motion the knot came loose and the rope flapped free in the gale, just as Nigel clawed at the rock for a handhold he could hear Sydney's voice screaming his name in horror.  
  
As his brain barely registered a dark figure standing over him on the grassy slope he felt a sharp stinging sensation strike his left forearm. As he slid down the vertical wall, the pebbles skittered wildly around him. Everything was a blur, his hands red raw as he reached out, trying to hold on to something, anything.  
  
With a sudden jerk, the world came crashing back and Nigel felt as though his arms were being wrenched out of their sockets as he came to a sharp halt, hanging from a small ledge by his fingertips.  
  
Breathing in short, sudden gasps he realised that he had fallen down almost half the cliff. Not quite aware of himself Nigel slowly descended the rest of the way until he could drop safely to the ground and sank to his knees in shock. A tiny niggling feeling in the back of his mind was telling him that he was hurt but he couldn't feel anything until Sydney came rushing over to him, white-faced and hugged him around the shoulders.  
  
"Nigel! My god are you OK? You're bleeding, we heard the shot!"  
  
"Shot, what shot?"  
  
"There was a man standing on the top of the cliff with a gun, the bullet must have just grazed your arm. Oh Nigel, what am I going to do with you? I don't know what I'd do if you died, can you go on?"  
  
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," feeling a bit flustered at all the attention she was giving him Nigel just wanted to hide and stop the blush that was rising swiftly to his cheeks.  
  
Noticing this and not wanting him to feel uncomfortable Sydney excused herself to get the first aid kit out of one of the packs. As her pulse gradually returned to normal she thought about how close Nigel had come to dying and as she knelt down to remove a roll of gauze from the box she couldn't help blaming herself.  
  
AN - judging by the fics I've read you all like a bit of Nigel torture so here's my contribution to the cause. Let me know what you think. 


	7. Down the rabbit hole

Disclaimer - I don't own Relic hunter. They've finally got down to the caves folks! Love/hate this fic, let me know.  
  
Chapter 7  
  
As the group made their way gingerly down the passage of uneven rock they could all feel the atmosphere gradually tensing. Cradling his injured arm bound tightly in gauze, Nigel couldn't help but sharply look over his shoulder suspiciously every now and then.  
  
Sydney too seemed in a wary state of mind and, although she wouldn't say anything to Nigel about it, she couldn't help wondering how far they could trust his alleged friends.  
  
After all, she knew barely a thing about them and how did they know that the dark figure that had attempted to kill her TA wasn't Devon or Katrina? Having said that, Nigel obviously trusted them and she had every faith in him, but then it wouldn't be the first time their supposed allies had turned on them.  
  
Almost bumping into Faith, Nigel realized that the group had come to a standstill. Shinning her torch in the direction of the two, Sydney could have sworn she saw Faith smile in a frankly seductive way at him before she moved over to retrieve another flashlight from Brionney, tossing her hair and making sure she brushed his uninjured arm softly as she slunk by in the confined space.  
  
'That little bitch!' thought Sydney angrily as she watched the gothic woman shake the light to get the batteries going, 'how dare she go anywhere near my Nigel!'  
  
"This is where the rabbit hole ends folks", announced Alex to the group, "the rest of the tunnel is blocked up, however, we did find slightly worn carvings on certain contours of the rock if you care to take a look?"  
  
"Great," Nigel replied, feeling a bit more enthusiastic as he reached into his pack to find his digital camera, "can someone shine their light onto the wall so I can get some clear shots of what we have here?"  
  
Noticing Faith opening her mouth, Sydney quickly jumped in between the two and declared louder than was necessary that she would love to assist him. Giving the blue haired woman a pointed look she ignored Nigel's slightly bemused one and crouched to get the beam of light in the right position.  
  
"I don't believe it!"  
  
"What is it Nige'?" asked Alex in response to Nigel's sudden gasp of amazement.  
  
"I have a feeling we are definitely looking in the right place, look at these images," Nigel showed the group the pictures he had taken on the digital camera's memory card, "it looks like a shield, a goblet and, a sword. However, what is strange is that the sword appears to have small lines protruding from it, which leads me to think that our attention is supposed to be drawn to the sword, like it has some special significance above the others."  
  
"What significance though?" said Sydney, thoughtfully.  
  
"Maybe it has magical powers," suggested Brionney, jokingly.  
  
Nigel and Sydney glanced at each other. "Actually, you may have something there, Bry'. After all, it was said that Galahad's sword did have some sort of mystical power that he only used for good, so proving his loyalty to God."  
  
"True," agreed Sydney, "but only a few texts mention this so the theory was dismissed in regard to the legend."  
  
"Hey guys, is it me or does this wall look a different colour to you?" asked Alex, examining the cave wall closely, scraping at it with his fingernails.  
  
"You're right, it does look like it's a slightly different shade to the other walls," agreed Sydney, "it seems to be made of a significantly softer substance, I think we might be able to chisel it away if we tried. What do you think Nigel?"  
  
"I think it's a great idea, after all, why would one wall be different from all the others? It's got to be that way for a reason, we've got some picks in the rucksack."  
  
As the small group began the tedious work of chipping away at the stone they all stopped suddenly as they heard a strange rumbling sound coming from the mouth of the cave.  
  
AN - if you have any ideas for further events in this fic, be sure to tell me in your review and I will do my best to include what I think would fit in with the story. Also, should Faith or Sydney get Nigel? (some of the historical facts in this may not be correct but have to be this way so they tie in with the fic) 


	8. It's raining rocks!

Disclaimer - I don't own Relic Hunter. Damn.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
"My god, that sounds like it's coming from the entrance to the cave!" cried Faith in a panic  
  
"You're right," exclaimed Sydney wryly, "come on, we gotta get outta here. Move, hurry!"  
  
As the small group rushed towards the exit they could already see small pebbles and rocks starting to rain down on them from the ceiling. Faith, Brionney and Alex were already out and moving towards their climbing ropes still hanging down the side of the cliff.  
  
"Oh no, Nigel, the research!" shouted Sydney to her TA, trying to make herself heard over the loud roaring noise the rock was making as it gradually crumbled away above their heads. "We left it behind by the carvings!"  
  
As she turned to dash back the way they'd come she felt Nigel forcefully grip her arm.  
  
"No! We haven't got time, it's not worth your life Sydney, we'll get it back somehow another time."  
  
Feeling angry with herself she allowed Nigel to pull her along the rest of the way. As he helped her over the lip of the entrance the rumbling grew louder, long deep cracks began to appear in the cliff and she realized that Nigel was no longer behind her.  
  
Calling his name and rushing back into the tunnel she realized that she was almost wading through ankle deep water as the tide appeared to be moving in fast. Ducking her head to re-enter the cave she felt strong arms grabbing her under the armpits and dragging her away from the mouth just as a huge block of stone came free and fell exactly where she had been standing only moments before.  
  
Landing heavily in the rapidly rising sea water Sydney could only look on in horror as she watched rock after rock pull free from its moorings and crash into place on the ground, swiftly sealing up the exit to the cave.  
  
When all the dust and rubble had subsided the group shakily returned to their feet, trying not to make any loud or sudden movements for fear it would spark off another violent reaction. Following a silent gesture from Brionney to move away from the unstable ledge they brought with them all the packs that they had managed to preserve from the cave-in.   
  
"Are you alright?" Alex asked Sydney in a worried tone, "you took quite a spill when I pulled you away from those falling stones."  
  
Glancing at him Sydney gave him a brief shaky smile to assure him she was unharmed before seizing his elbows and telling him what had befallen the youngest Bailey.  
  
"-He's still in there!" she cried, her voice rapidly rising a few octaves in panic. She couldn't lose Nigel, not now, not only because they had been through so much together, but also because of the slowly developing new feelings she was experiencing towards her TA that she had just come to accept.  
  
"What are you kidding?" said Faith in shock.  
  
"It can't be true", muttered Brionney," god, Nigel, we have to do something!" She began to make her way back over to the rock-pile when Alex took her shoulder to bring her back.  
  
"No Bri'. You can't go back over there, it's too dangerous."  
  
"So what," she demanded," are we just going to leave him there to die? We're supposed to be his friends and friends don't abandon each other in times of need Alex!"  
  
"She's right," offered Faith," friends don't abandon each other, but you have to understand Bri', we can't possibly move all those stones on our own and even if we could we don't have any proper first aid skills and what if Nigel has bad injuries?"  
  
"Well then that's all the more reason to get him out sooner!" the blonde argued.  
  
"She has as point," Sydney interceded with a sigh, "Which means we should try and get help all the more quickly. The water's rising too fast for us to be of any use anyway. We should try and get back to camp and phone for aid as soon as possible,"  
  
  
  
"Alright", agreed Brionney finally," but what if the cave gets flooded by the tide, won't Nigel drown?"  
  
"I'm sure the water won't get through the rock", said Sydney reassuringly, feeling a gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach, dread making her throat feel constricted.  
  
"Exactly," said Alex, sounding a little unsure of himself, "the stone seems very tightly packed together so it should be impervious to the waves."  
  
A few minutes later as she heaved her body over the edge of the cliff all Sydney could think about was getting to a phone as fast as she could, cursing the fact that it was always Nigel who carried the mobile out of the two and then blessing the fact as it could mean that Nigel had an additional lifeline and had maybe already called for help.  
  
AN - I don't understand it. Nobody wants to review my story, is it that rubbish? Even if you don't like it you could give me some hints as to make it better! Oh well, all hail Nigel! I know he isn't in this chappie much but the next one will be devoted entirely to him, promise! 


	9. Hysteria and crappy blue mobiles!

Disclaimer - I own nothing, OK????? Thank you to all the people who reviewed. I was going to try and hold out for 20, but then I figured I was being a bit sad and it wasn't really fair to you guys, can you forgive me???? By the way, I've noticed quite a few spelling mistakes in my fics, so if any of you spot them, will you let me know? Anyway, here's the short, but hopefully sweet, chapter!  
  
Chapter nine  
  
It was all dark. Nigel groaned and slowly raised hand to his aching head. Hissing at the sudden pain the action had caused he opened his eyes to the dull flickering glow of the torch that had fallen to the ground as the roof of the cave had collapsed.  
  
Forcing himself to turn over he saw that his hand was now enveloped in a strange sticky substance that glistened in the weak orange beam of the torch. Realizing that the dark liquid must be blood he made a sudden reach for the light in order to view his surroundings better.  
  
Hearing a slight splash at his movement and feeling a cold wetness begin to seep through his trousers, gradually spreading further up his legs the bruised young man managed to wrestle himself to his feet.  
  
Fighting to keep conscious instead of giving in to the wave of dizziness that had suddenly swept over him, Nigel got a grip on the wall and looked around.   
  
It was bad. Realizing with a rising panic that the only source of light in the otherwise pitch cave was his battered old flashlight. Nigel knew he would have to pull himself together as the batteries would soon die and he would have no way of finding an escape route, especially now that the exit to the cave seemed to be completely blocked.   
  
"Sydney?!" Nigel tried shouting. There was no answer, however, just the echoing of his panicked voice and the thin streams of falling dust and pebbles the reverberations caused. Attempting to console himself with the fact that it looked like Sydney had gotten out in time, he began to resign himself that all evidence pointed towards him dying young.  
  
Feeling a knot of panic growing inside him as his mind unwillingly wandered towards images of himself slowly wasting away from starvation or buried by another rock fall. Shaking his head to try and clear the horrible visions he began to feel a little abandoned. Why had nobody come back for him? Didn't they care that he would probably drown in the rising water of the tide in this stupid, barely air filled cave?  
  
Wait a minute. Water filled? Barely air filled? Drown? With a gasp of shock Nigel realized, despite his growing numbness, that icy water was steadily rising past his knee and was part-way up his thigh approaching his hip!  
  
Backing himself against the wall in terror he let out another gasp as he felt something hard digging into his side. Swiping his sodden hair out of the way he reached into his pocket to find his trusty old blue mobile phone.  
  
Almost laughing hysterically he balanced the torch between his left ear and shoulder and used his free hands to programme in the number to Faith's mobile. Raising the much praised phone to his ear he felt the hysterics start to rise within him again as the ringing sounded a little off as it kept fading in and out.   
  
Trying hard not to drop the phone of torch as the freezing water rose over his waist and continued climbing he was distracted by the phone at the other end being answered only to hear some kid of faint scuffle going on. Hearing the sound of Sydney's voice he found some hope again and tried to get her attention.  
  
"Syd'? Sydney, can you hear me? It's me, Nigel. I think I'm gonna drown in here, please help me, I don't know how long the air's going to last! Are you OK? Please…" and in a quieter, more subdued voice he whispered almost to himself, "I'm scared…..".  
  
AN- Hope you all enjoyed Nigel's panicking. Trust me, there's a lot more to come! Let me know what you think, as always, any comments you have are greatly appreciated. Thank you in particular to Snaggle and Daena Greenflame for their encouragement to keep going, it really helped. xxxx. 


	10. Anxiety and crappy red mobiles!

Disclaimer - As usual, Relic Hunter does not belong to me. I'm very sorry I haven't updated for so long. In my defence I will say that I've been very busy and at least you have a new post now, enjoy!  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Back up on the top of the cliff Alex, Brionney, Faith and Sydney struggled back to the camp, their clothes sodden and dripping seawater. Dirt and small cuts littered their hands and great smudges of filth darkened their faces.  
  
As the sorry quartet staggered back into the clump of tents Kitty and Devon came rushing out to meet them.  
  
"Oh my god are you alright?!"  
  
"We heard the crash, are you hurt? We called the emergency services, what happened? Did the cave collapse? Where's Nigel?… WHERE'S NIGEL?!"  
  
Devon grasped Kitty round the waist and held her tightly to try and calm her down. The red-head was steadily growing more hysterical by the minute and they didn't need that right now.  
  
Being a level headed person by nature Alex suggested they all go inside the awning to work out rationally what they should do next. Seeing this as the best idea so far the group trooped wearily in to sit at the long trestle table.  
  
After hearing a highly condensed version of what had happened Alex looked thoughtful whilst Faith put a comforting arm around Kitty as she sobbed noisily.  
  
"I'm afraid I don't see how any of us can help Nigel until the Coastguard gets here," he began, interrupted by a loud heaving gasp from Kitty as she wiped roughly at her eyes with a pile of Kleenex. "I think we should try and sort ourselves out so we can be of best use when they get here. I'm going to go get the medical supplies out of the van, you should have your cuts cleaned up."  
  
Slowly nodding their agreement the group began to get a hold on themselves.  
  
"I'm gonna go make a pot of tea," muttered Brionney, "I think we could all use a cup and that's what you drink in times of crisis right?"  
  
Sydney was still sitting frozen at the table in shock. How could she have let this happen? She was supposed to be the strong one, the responsible one and now Nigel was trapped in a cave, probably drowning, all because she didn't want to leave some pathetic research papers behind!  
  
Normally she could hold it together in a crisis, but nothing this bad had ever happened to someone because of her. Why did it have to be Nigel? Of all the people it could have been, how could he die just when she was finally starting to acknowledge her true feelings for him?  
  
It seemed hugely unfair that the one chance she could have at a serious relationship that lasted was to be taken away from her before she'd even had a chance to experience it. Nigel didn't deserve a watery grave and she would make sure it didn't happen.  
  
Rising determinedly to her feet, not sure what she intended to do, about to stride out of the tent Sydney spun around in shock as the phone on the table started to ring.  
  
Everyone turned in shock to stare at the small red mobile, its buttons flashing as it screamed out to be answered.  
  
A deadly quiet hung over the camp and no one moved. All eyes were on the small phone. Coming to her senses, Sydney reached for the phone first only to find Faith blocking her.  
  
All of a sudden it seemed a mass stampede had broken out, each person trying to be the one to talk to Nigel first.  
  
Alex grasped the phone and pressed the receive call button only to have it fly out of his hand to clatter on the table as he was shoved form behind by Kitty.  
  
Nigel's voice could barely be heard over the mass scramble, all anyone could hear was a vague buzzing sound that faded in and out as the signal was so weak.  
  
Someone tripped over a stack of folders and the muddle of people collapsed onto the floor from the sudden extra weight. Quiet descended once more and the hissing sound stopped.  
  
"Are you OK? Please..."  
  
Everyone stared at the phone.  
  
"…I'm scared -"  
  
" - The person you are talking to has been disconnected. Please hang up and try again…"  
  
Sydney was horrified. Nigel's plea for help hand wrenched at her heartstrings and it was all she could do to keep herself together. She felt terrible, how could he be asking if they were alright when he could be nearly drowning.  
  
Roughly shoving everyone aside, Sydney pulled herself up to the tabletop and seized the phone and pressed recall. Nothing happened. Not believing it was happening she found herself pressing it again and again, maybe if she pressed the damn button hard enough it might work!  
  
Hearing a sigh behind her, Sydney turned to find Alex gently prying the phone from her fingers. For the first time in her life, she didn't know what to do. Standing there she looked dumbly into his face for reassurance.  
  
"The coastguard will be here soon. He'll be fine. I know he will. They'll get him out, it's their job to save people, I…" His voice trailed off miserably and they both turned, subdued, to see the edge of the cliff that they'd gone down in such high spirits not so long before.  
  
AN - Well this is the event of the last chapter from Sydney and Nigel's mates view, I decided to leave Nigel near death for just that little bit longer :) Anyway, please review with any thoughts and comments, they're much appreciated! 


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